Jan 6 hearing moved up because of safety fears for Meadows aide

The panel says that the extra hearing was added ‘to present recently obtained evidence and receive witness testimony’

The latest January 6 Committee hearing was moved up because of safety fears for witness Cassidy Hutchinson, a former special assistant to the president and top aide to former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

The panel said the hearing had been scheduled for 1pm on 28 June “to present recently obtained evidence and receive witness testimony”.

Punchbowl News reported that the hearing was moved up because panel members had “sincere concerns” for Ms Hutchinson’s safety due to the testimony she has provided.

Her testimony will also inform the hearings that are due to take place next month following the July 4 congressional recess.

Ms Hutchinson was Mr Meadows’s top aide and had extensive access to both the chief of staff and the president before, during, and after the insurrection while also serving as the main White House contact for dozens of members of Congress.

In her pre-recorded deposition, parts of which have been shown during earlier hearings, she named some Republican lawmakers who asked for pardons after the Capitol riot.

She was in touch with officials in Georgia following the election concerning attempts to overturn the results in the state.

She has also testified that she witnessed Mr Meadows burn papers in his office following a meeting with Pennsylvania Representative Scott Perry in the weeks leading up to the attack on Congress.

Mr Perry was instrumental in the efforts to appoint Jeffrey Clark, an environmental lawyer with the Department of Justice, as acting attorney general to try to use the DOJ to boost Mr Trump’s false claims of election fraud.

CNN reported that Ms Hutchinson told the panel that Mr Trump indicated to Mr Meadows that he approved of the riotous mob chanting “hang Mike Pence”.

Mr Meadows has declined to testify before the panel himself. He initially turned over thousands of texts to the committee before then refusing to cooperate further.

Punchbowl News reported that Ms Hutchinson has become much more cooperative with the Jan 6 panel after switching lawyers earlier in June.

Her previous attorney was Stefan Passantino, the Trump White House ethics lawyer, who remains within the Trump circle.

Her new lawyer is Jody Hunt, the chief of staff to Mr Trump’s first Attorney General – former Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions.

Ms Hutchinson has reportedly spoken with the panel on four occasions.